Hiding

 

Hiding

The Tree of Knowledge opened the eyes of Adam and Eve to shame

Their shame caused them to hide

From each other

Hide from God

And hide behind others

Honesty is not a part of the Tree of Knowledge

The Tree of Knowledge is the eating of deception and lies

So, honesty is the first step to breaking the hold of evil and shame

Honesty will bring you out of hiding 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

 

 Hiding

 

One of the fun games we used to play

on a warm summer night when I

 was young, was Hide and Seek.

 

I looked forward to evening when we would

gather under the street light to see who

was playing and decide who was going

to hide and who would be the one seeking.

 

As I look at all the other times in my

life of hiding, they did not have the joy

or fun of playing Hide and Seek”.

 

The other times in my life were times

when I thought I had done something

someone else would not approve of.

 

Those times in life are times of caution and fear.

 

Times of making plans of escape

if and when I was discovered.

 

As a child, it may be taking a cookie when told not to.

 

It may be having a friend or friends

over when parents are gone.

 

It may be driving over the speed limit.

 

It may be a lot of things that we find ourselves guilty of.

 

A loss of innocence.

 

Our parents, Adam and Eve, started the

hiding game after losing their innocence.

 The eating of the Tree of Knowledge…

 

 “Opened their eyes”.

 

They realized they were naked.

 

Their nudity was not a problem before this.

 

Remember God said be fruitful and multiply.

 

Their freedom of sex and nudity was lost.

 

Throughout history we see the shame of nakedness,

 when we are forced to be naked in public.

 

Armies would use this type of

 humiliation on their captives.

 

So the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and bare-

foot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old,

with buttocks bared — to Egypt's shame.

Isaiah 20:4

 

Adam and Eve’s minds were opened when

they ate of the forbidden fruit, to shame.

 

They saw each other’s naked bodies in a

way they never saw before.

 

Then they needed to hide parts of

their naked bodies from each other…

 

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized they were naked;

so they sewed fig leaves together

and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:7

 

I know there are studies and nudists that are

trying to prove the shame of nudity is

socially learned and should be unlearned.

 

From God’s Word and experiencing life

there is a time for nudity and a time

when it is and should be shameful.

 

Adam and Eve lived in the beautiful freedom

of nudity, but their eyes were opened when

they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they saw there

was another side to nudity, that was shameful.

 

The Bible clearly says there are acts of

sexual morality and lust…

 

But we don’t need the Bible to tell us that the world

around us has modeled the causes and effects for us.

 

Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience,

because they ate from the Tree of Knowledge,

they lost the purity of nudity.

 

This loss of innocence, the guilt and shame,

caused them to see a need to hide from each other.

 

Secondly, we see The Knowledge of Good

and Evil caused them to hide from God.

 

 They were ashamed to have God see them.

 

God’s Word tells us His desire is to be with us

and not only with us, but by His Spirit to live in us.

 

When Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened

after eating from the Tree of Knowledge,

they saw the need to hide from God…

 

"I heard you in the garden,

and I was afraid because I was naked;

 so I hid."

 Genesis 3:10

 

Sadly, once you have seen

something you cannot unsee it.

 

Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened to

things they were never meant to see.

 

And when their eyes were opened,

they could not unsee it.

 

The effects of these images in their minds

caused them to see what was meant for

good as something also used for evil.

 

Adam and Eve used fig leaves to hide their shame

of nudity from each other and from God.

 

The Lord did not try to reverse or remove

the new knowledge of evil and shame…

 

 Because knowledge of good and evil

cannot be erased from our minds.

 

The best we can do is to cover it or hide it.

 

God gave Adam and Eve replacement garments

to hide their shame, skins from an animal.

 

This meant a death had to take place to cover their shame.

 

Jesus Christ became the Lamb of God to

take away our shame by shedding His blood.

 

This does not change the fact that there

is still an evil side to nudity.

 

There will always be sexual impurity and lust,

 which are revealed in the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

 

What the Blood of the Lamb means is…

 

 If we are washed in His blood, we have

forgiveness from the judgements of sin

and do not have to hide from God.

 

God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,

through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice,

 because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time,

so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:25-26

 

When our eyes are opened to evil, sin,

we try to hide behind others.

 

The man said,

"The woman you put here with me —

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Then the LORD God said to the woman,

 "What is this you have done?"

 

The woman said,

"The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3:6-13

 

Instead of owning up to our own

guilt, we hide behind others.

 

Adam shifted the blame on Eve.

 

 Eve shifted the blame on the serpent.

His fault, Her fault, Their fault, Not me.

 

What if we stopped looking out

the window and looked in the mirror?

 

What if we stopped hiding

behind shades of gray.

 

Honesty is not a part of

the Tree of Knowledge.

 

The Tree of Knowledge is the

eating of deception and lies.

 

So, honesty is the first step to

breaking the hold of evil and shame.

 

Honesty will bring you out of hiding.

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and

 just and will forgive us our sins and purify

us from all unrighteousness.

 1 John 1:9

 

He who conceals his sins does not prosper,

but whoever confesses

and renounces them finds mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

 

Therefore confess your sins to

each other and pray  for each other

 so that you may be healed.

James 5:16

 

Let’s stop hiding and be honest

about the Tree of Knowledge.

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Genesis 3:12-13 NIV

 

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

 

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

 

10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

 

11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

 

12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

 

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"

 

The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."